


A Quest Into Heck

by GoofyGoldenGirl



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Autographs, Comic-Con, Comics, Conventions, Cosplay, Costumes, Cute, Fandom, Fandom Culture, Fans, Fluff, Friendship, Fun, Gen, Happy, Photoshoots, Shapeshifting, fan community, fangirling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-19 07:06:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3600807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoofyGoldenGirl/pseuds/GoofyGoldenGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em> When the author of Steven and Connie's favorite comic, <strong> A Quest Into Heck* </strong> goes to a local convention, the two kids jump at the chance to meet him and go to their first con! Can they get to meet him in time? Will Connie be able to protect Steven from the spoilers that walk among them? And most importantly, will they have a blast? Find out here in <strong> A Quest Into Heck! </strong></em>
  <br/>
  <em>* May or may not be based on the <strong>Journey Into Mystery </strong> series </em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Quest Into Heck

Saturday morning breakfast at the Maheswaran household was interrupted when Connie's cell started to ring from the living room. Connie excused herself to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Connie! Connie! They're having a convention in Baltimore! And Craig's gonna be there!" Came Steven's voice from the other end.

Craig L'Tain was the writer of a popular comic series called _A Quest Into Heck._ It followed the adventures of a young boy named Krien in a far off land, who in a past life was an evil sorcerer. In order to redeem himself, Krien had to complete five dangerous quests. Connie and Steven were huge fans of the series.

"No way!" 

"Yeah! It's like next month and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

"I've love to! Hang on, let me ask my mom," Connie told him. She put down the phone and raced into the kitchen.

"Mom! Steven's inviting me to go to a comic convention can I go?"

"A comic convention?" Mrs. Maheswaran asked apprehensively. She thought that Connie was too young to attend conventions.

"Please? The author of my favorite comic's going to be there. And if you want, you or dad can come with us."

Mrs. Maheswaran paused and took a sip of her coffee.

"I'll think it over," she answered.  
************************************  
In the end, after going through the convention's website and talking it over with The Gems, Mrs. Maheswaran told Connie that she could go.

It was Connie's turn to be the one with exciting news. She called Steven back two days later.

"That's great!" Steven exclaimed.

"I know!" Connie nearly let out a squee. "I can't wait! I'm already lining up all the issues I want Craig to sign! And I wanna cosplay too!"

"Who are you cosplaying as?" Steven asked.

"Kela," Kela was Krien's best friend in the series, a no nonsense girl with magical powers.

"I can be Krien!" Steven said. 

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

From then, Connie and Steven got to work. They bought the fabric and materials needed for their costumes and with the help of The Gems, were able to turn them into something spectacular. Steven's tunic was a a crisp royal purple color, with three black buttons on the front, and two large black wings painted on the back. With that, he wore black leggings and lace up boots. He made a crown out of craft foam and fake black feathers. (Amethyst offered to get real raven feathers for the crown but Steven refused) Connie made a medieval style dress, the same color as Steven's, that had a black belt wrapped around the middle, and wore dress shoes with them. She made two horns made out of black instamorph and hot glued them to a headband. 

Amethyst, who was going with them, would be cosplaying as Kiren's familiar, the raven Nerik. She would be shapeshifting.  
****************************************************************************************************************************************  
The day of the convention had arrived. Steven's dad drove them to the convention center and told them he'd pick them up at around five. The pre reg line moved very quickly--about thirty minutes or so and they got their badges in no time.

"Now the fun begins!" Amethyst grinned. There was a flash and she changed into a raven. She perched on Steven's shoulder.

"Onward into heck we go!" Steven shouted.

For the first hour or so, Steven and Connie walked around the convention. They went back and forth from the main convention building to the hotel. They were stopped many times with:

"Krien! Kela!"

"I love your cosplays!"

"Can take your picture?"

"How did you get an actual _bird_ "

"Your Nerik is amazing!"

"You guys are awesome!"

"It actually looks like you stepped out of the comic!"

"Did you know that Craig's here?"

"Thank you so much!"

"Have a great con!"

The first time convention goers could not believe that this many people would take their photos. It felt overwhelmingly amazing. While Connie was a little uncomfortable with being stopped almost every five seconds, Amethyst and Steven loved every second of it.

"We don't have to stop for every photo you know," Steven told Connie after he noticed that she looked a bit uneasy. 

"Ok," Connie was relieved.

The group also did their share of photo taking. Steven was the one who would get over excited and start to take pictures of almost everything.

"Whoa! Slow down!" Amethyst croaked with a laugh. "We'll run out of film!"

Once in a while, they talked to the other cosplayers. It was mostly about _A Quest Into Heck_

"I'm still stuck on the Frozen Over arc. It's really heart wrenching," Steven said.

"I cried while reading that," one of the cosplayers said with a nod. "I'm not gonna give anything away but it gets sadder."

"Oh no!" Steven exclaimed.

Connie, who had already finished the series and its sequel kept quiet.

They headed over to the autograph booth, hoping to get their comics signed. Craig was not there. He would be there at two. 

"Aw too bad," Connie sighed.

"What should we do now?" Steven asked.

"Let's go to a panel!" Amethyst pointed her beak at the convention guide Connie was holding. "Hey! This one is about _A Quest Into Heck_

The panel description said: _**45Why** : Are you still crying over that last issue of **A Quest Into Heck**? Come join us on some sweet theories, and meta on what this means for **Bug Havoc** and **Super Secret Spy**_

"We should totally go to that!" Steven exclaimed, forgetting for a second that he had not finished the series.

"There's this cool one right here!" Connie pointed to the the panel on **Swing Thy Sword** : _A look at medieval weapons in comics_

"I'm down for that!" Amethyst cawed.

"Sure! Let's go!" Steven took Connie's hand and Amethyst flew in front of them as they made their way down the hall.  
*************************************************************************************************************************************  
After the panel, the trio decided to get some lunch. They were close to the food court when they heard:

"Krien! Kela!"

They turned around to see a group of five cosplayers; three girls and two boys, ranging in their teens to early twenties. One of the girls was wearing a light green dress and carrying a prop bow and arrow and was standing next to the girl wearing red shorts with red tights and a dark blue tunic. Next to them was the third girl, who wore a skintight light blue bodysuit and was crossplaying. At the end stood the first boy who wore a silver tunic with a red cape and black leggings. He was holding hands with the second boy who was wearing a black cutoff shirt, and navy blue paints, and had painted muscle outlines on his arms. 

"Ah! It's The Young Warriors! " Connie exclaimed.

"Who?" Steven was confused.

"They're in _Bug Havoc_ " she explained. "You'll see them soon."

"Thanks Krien!" The girl in the blue tunic told him. "Allow us to introduce ourselves!"

"Chalva Amestra!" The girl in the blue tunic did a dramatic fighting pose. 

"Bearfist!" The boy in the cutoff shirt flexed his muscles.

"Spellcaster!" The boy in the silver tunic moved his hands if he were casted a spell.

"Lady Arrow but you can call me Tina," the girl in the green dress said with a curtsy. 

"And I'm Rar Von," the girl in the bodysuit waved. 

"And together we are--"

"The Young Warriors! "They all exclaimed, Connie included who was fangirling like crazy.

Steven started to clap.

"You memorized the entire introduction!" Connie squealed. "That is amazing!"

"You guys are the first _A Quest Into Heck_ cosplayers I've seen all day!" The Bearfist exclaimed.

"You guys have a Nerick!" Lady Arrow added excitedly. Amethyst, who was on Connie's shoulder, tilted her head towards Lady Arrow. She petted the top of Amethyst's head. Everyone giggled.

"Thanks! You too!"

"Can I get your picture?"

"Yeah and can we get yours!"

"We should take a group pic!"

"Yeah!"

They took photos of each other including one group photo which was taken by a passerby. Everyone then started to go their separate ways.

"Hey there's a photoshoot over by the fountain in the lobby at 12:30. You guys should come," Spellcaster told them.

"We'll definitely be there!" Steven exclaimed.

"See you later!"

"See you!"  
*************  
The photoshoot was packed. Characters from all different comics gathered around. The person leading the photoshoot made gestures to get everyone's attention and explained the rules. There would be group photos and character photos and at the end, everyone could do requests.

The first set of photos were taken. People rushed back and forth, got into the pose of their choice and smiled out at the photographers. Steven and Connie were called up several time to join photoshoots related to their characters. There was a whole set for _A Quest Into Heck_ and _Bug Havoc_ characters, for the Krien cosplayers, and for all the female characters. Otherwise, Steven and Connie took pictures of the characters and groups they liked. No one seemed to notice that Steven and Connie's bird had gone missing. Amethyst had shapeshifted back to take photos of Steven and Connie. 

It was at the beginning of the request photos when Connie turned to Steven and said:

"Hey, I have an idea. 

"What is it?" She whispered it in his ear and he grinned.

Later when it was their turn to take the stage, Connie and Steven stood still for a second. Then Steven glanced up:

"Oh no! Kela! Look! The entire land it's _frozen over!_ " Steven pointed around him.

"We're doomed!" Connie exclaimed. "The ice demon has _absorbed_ the _glacier of time_ and _nothing_ can stop him!"

The onlookers let out gasps and whoops. Many were taking videos and photos. 

"We have to do something!" Steven shouted.

"We _can't_ do anything!"

"Look out! The ice storm!"

Steven and Connie grabbed hands. They faced each other.

"Farewell my friend!" Steven's voice wavered as he looked right into Connie's eyes. 

"Krien!"

The two hugged. The audience let out _awws_ and even more whoops. Steven and Connie stared right into each other's eyes for a few seconds before they faced the audience, and bowed to their cheers. As Steven and Connie made their way back to their spot, they were congratulated.  
************************************************************************************************************  
Steven, Connie, and Amethyst spent some time with the _Bug Havoc_ cosplayers and several other _A Quest Into Heck_ ones until it was nearly time for the autograph booth to open. They were going towards the escalators to go up when a cosplayer caught Steven's eye. He wore a purple shirt, leather leggings, and a long black feather cape. He wore black eye makeup and painted his nails black.

"It's a human Nerik!" Steven exclaimed. 

"Steven that's not Ne-- Connie started, but the cosplayer noticed them first.

"A phantom!" He pointed at Steven, his voice scared and in character. "And Kela!" 

"A surprise to see you around these parts," Connie answered the cosplayer in character.

"I love your human Nerik cosplay!" Steven told the cosplayer.

"Thanks but I'm not Nerik," the cosplayer said. "I'm--oh, that means you're still reading _A Quest Into Heck?_ "

"Yeah. The Frozen Over arc is so sad," Steven sad.

"I nearly cried while reading it," the cosplayer said with sympathetic look. "I feel."

"I love your Krien cosplay," Connie told the cosplayer.

"So you're future me?" Steven asked.

Both Connie and the older Krien cosplayer exchanged worried looks.

"Yes," they both answered at the same time. 

"Can I get your picture?" The older Krien cosplayer asked. "You guys are super cool."

"Yeah!"

They swapped pictures and talked for a while.

"Have you seen Craig yet?" The older Krien cosplayer asked.

"Not yet, but we're headed there," Steven said.

"You'll love him. He's so nice," the older Krien cosplayer said. "Not only did he sign my comics, but my fanart too."

"How's _Super Secret Spy? "_ Connie asked. "I want to read it, but my parents won't let me.

"It's great!" the older Krien cosplayer said. "A nice blend between dark and funny, even though now it's gotten more intense. I'm guessing it's because of that one character that your parents won't let you read it."

"Yeah," Connie said. "Basically that."

"Totally understand," the older Krien cosplayer said. "My folks were the same way when I was your age."

"Well, we got to get going," Steven said. "Nice meeting you!"

"Nice meeting you too!" The older Krien smiled. "If I see you around, feel free to say hi!"

They parted ways.  
*********************  
They were close to the autograph booth when they caught the attention of two jerks lurking around the stairs.

"Haaaa, look at these stupid kids," Jerk number one muttered.

"Bet they don't even know what they're cosplaying as," Jerk number two smirked. "Let's teach 'em."

"Hey Leka!" Jerk number one shouted at Connie.

"Yes?" She answered, in character. "You're asking for my mistress?"

Leka was a witch who had raised Kela from infancy. She found the baby Kela on her doorstep and decided to take her in. Leka was a powerful witch and under her guidance, Kela was able to master advanced magic by the tender age of twelve. 

"I'm talking to _you_ Leka!" Jerk number one shouted.

It was revealed in the last issue of the series that they were the same person; Leka had created Kela, and eventually would grow up to be her. 

"Just ignore them," Steven told Connie. "They probably don't realize that you're cosplaying as Kela."

They kept on walking. The jerks kept shouting. 

"Hey Leka! Krien! Come back!" 

Connie kept glancing back, nervous, that they'd follow them. Steven was blissfully annoyed. Amethyst cocked her head and glared at the jerks. She got off of Steven's shoulder and defensively stood in front of the kids. 

"Get back here!"

The jerks had gotten loud enough to cause a scene. Several cosplayers who had been walking about stopped and observed. Several began to step in. 

"Hey! Leave those kids alone!" A Piderman shouted at the jerks. 

"You guys are jerks you know!" A Ms. Spectacle cosplayer interjected. 

But the jerks did not stop hurling their spoilery insults.

"And Krien!" Jerk number two joined in. "I can't believe you're even _here!_ You--"

Amethyst swooped down on the jerks and let out a shriek. The jerks screamed, trying to hide their faces as Amethyst tried to peck them. She chased them as they bolted down the hallway. The two jerks were soon out of sight.

"And _don't_ be a **spoilsport!** " She squawked. 

Everyone was silent. Then, they started to cheer. Amethyst flew back to a surprised Steven and Connie.

"Come on, we gotta get going," she told them.

After being checked on by the other cosplayers to make sure they were ok, Steven, Connie, and Amethyst entered the autograph room. They walked down the rows of tables until they reached the one where Craig L'Tain sat. There was no line. Steven and Connie got their comics out.

"This is it," Connie whispered excitedly.

"I know!" Steven gripped tightly onto issue 30 and stared down at the cover.

They approached the table. Craig L' Tain looked over his glasses and burst into a grin.

"It's Krien, Kela, and Nerik!" he exclaimed.

"Hi!" The two kids greeted him. 

"Wow! Your cosplays are amazing!" Craig leaned in. "And is that an _actual_ bird?" Amethyst landed on the table and tilted her head towards Craig. He pet her gently.

"Yep!" Steven answered.

"Wow!" Craig moved back into his seat, in awe. "Wow! Can I get a picture with you?"

"That's what we were about to ask!" Connie said.

One of the artists in the next booth took the pictures on Craig's phone and Steven's camera of them. Then Steven and Connie handed over their comics.

" _A Quest Into Heck's_ my favorite comic," Connie told him. "You did such an amazing job on it."

"This was the comic that got me into comics," Steven said.

"Aw thank you," Craig said as he opened one of the sharpies. "I put a lot of my soul into that comic. Literally.

Steven and Connie giggled.

"So what are your names?" Craig asked.

"Steven."

"Connie."

Craig signed their comics and added a little smiley face at the end of his signature.

"You guys reading _Super Secret Spy?_ " He asked.

"I've finished _Quest_ and _Bug Havoc,"_ Connie said. "Parents won't let me read _Spy_ until I turn thirteen."

"Aw," Craig sighed sympathetically. "I've been keeping up on it ever since Allan Starling took over, and it's fascinating to see where Krien goes."

"I'm still on _Quest_ ," Steven admitted. "I'm stuck on the Frozen Over arc. It's really sad."

"Don't worry," Craig smiled. "Let me tell you something. I cried while writing it."

He handed back the comics.

"Thank you so much!"

"My pleasure!"

"Can we give you a hug?"

"Sure!"

Steven and Connie gave Craig a hug. They then waved goodbye and started to head out.

"I met sempai!" Connie was in a daze. "I can't believe I met sempai!"

"I know! And he was awesome!" Steven's eyes glowed. "Maybe we'll get to see him again at another con!"

"Til then we'll have to catch up on reading."

"Yep!"

The three headed out the door and back into the crowded hallway.


End file.
